


Mechanical Mishaps

by BeemurBee



Category: LazyTown
Genre: De-Aged Robbie, Gen, I honestly have no idea where this is going, Robbie and Glanni are cousins, don't mix science and magic, fae!Robbie, improper use of inventions, questionable science, Íþróttaálfurinn is Sportacus' brother, Íþróttaálfurinn is not number nine, Íþróttaálfurinn may or may not show up at all
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-23
Updated: 2017-01-26
Packaged: 2018-09-19 13:27:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9442859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeemurBee/pseuds/BeemurBee
Summary: Mixing magic and science is never a good idea - something Robbie discovers after a disastrous explosion renders him... indisposed. How is he gonna get himself out of this mess?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This work is completely random and unplanned. I have no idea where this is going, if it's going anywhere to begin with. Please don't take is seriously, but please do enjoy it.

It was mid-afternoon and Stephanie was out by herself for a change. All of her friends were too today – Ziggy was at a doctor's appointment, Trixie was out of town for the day at a cousin's birthday party, and Pixel and Stingy just didn't feel like coming out to play. So here Stephanie was, wandering around the valley at the edge of town, admiring the hand-painted billboard that served as a barrier to the local villain's hide away.

She knew she probably shouldn't be out here – Robbie definitely didn't want any visitors, but she was _bored_. She probably could've written to Sportacus, there's no doubt he'd love to come down to play with her, but he had mentioned something about airship maintenance yesterday and she didn't want to bother him.

As she approached the billboard, admiring the work Robbie had put into the portrait, a muffled explosion rocked the area and sent her sprawling to the ground.

“What in the world...?” she muttered to herself as she climbed back to her feet and brushed the grass off her dress. She ran to the other side of the billboard when she heard the thumping of someone trying to climb up the shaft that served as the lair's entrance.

There was smoke leaking out from under the closed lid and Stephanie wondered if she should help, but before she could make another move, the lid popped open and a plume of black smoke billowed out, accompanied by a tiny body flopping out of the hole and hacking soot out of its lungs.

It was a boy, Stephanie noted – a very familiar boy drowning in a very familiar purple robe. The boy grunted and forced himself to sit up, but didn't look up as he was too busy rubbing at his irritated eyes.

“H-hey, are you okay?” she asked, leaning over him.

“Uh... I think so,” he muttered in a voice rough from coughing. He looked up at her with the same gray eyes that she saw on a near daily basis.

“Robbie Rotten!” she squeaked, taking an instinctive step back. Then she stopped and gave him a suspicious glare. “What are you up to?”

Robbie blinked at her and then frowned.

“Have we met before?” he asked, and much to her shock he sounded honestly confused. Before she could reply, he shook his head and pushed himself to his feet. He was an inch or two shorter than her now.

“Nevermind, I'd remember you if we had. How do _you_ know _me?_ ”

“Uh...”

“And where even am I?”

“Well I-”

“And _what_ on _Earth_ am I _wearing_?”

Stephanie huffed and dropped her head into her hands as he tugged at the purple robe and blue sleepers. This was unbelievable, she decided.

“You're in Lazytown,” she finally said. He stopped moving when she said thing and his head slowly raised up. The look he gave her was absolutely perplexed.

“ _Lazytown?_ ” he said slowly, drawing the word out with doubt. “How the heck did I end up in _Lazytown?_ ”

Stephanie, who was clueless herself, though for different reasons, just shrugged. “Where are you supposed to be?” she asked, deciding to play along with the apparent memory loss.

“Mayhemtown,” he told her. He huffed and crossed his arms. Mayhemtown was nowhere _near_ Lazytown, _how_ had he ended up here? “I don't understand...”

“Well...” Stephanie paused for a moment, slightly caught of guard by the fact that Robbie was from _Mayhemtown_ , of all places. Though she supposed it made sense, the man was certainly chaotic enough. Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to the problem at hand and tried to think of a solution. Shesnapped her fingers as an idea came to mind.

“Why not start from the last thing you remember? Maybe it'll help.”

He stared at her for a moment and she wondered if he was about to call her some stupid name again, like he usually did, but then he looked away and frowned in thought.

“I guess... the last thing I remember is that I was at home, messing with Glanni,” he muttered, she didn't bother to ask who Glanni was. “Then there was that explosion, I'm sure you heard,” he looked up at her and she nodded, it had been hard to miss – she was actually surprised it hadn't alerted Sportacus. “Then I found my way out here and you were standing a little bit over that way.”

He waved his hand in the general direction of the billboard.

There were a few other things he remembered, but they weren't anymore substantial than some odd sensations, so he didn't bother to bring them up.

“Well,” Stephanie said again, planting her hands on her hips and stared back towards town. “I guess I can't leave you out here by yourself. And that robe doesn't look all that comfortable right now...”

Robbie grunted and tugged it off. He was still left in oversized silk pyjamas and, as he leaned down to roll up the pantlegs, he asked her, “Do you know why I'm wearing this?”

“No idea,” she lied through her teeth. When he had gotten the pants to a point he was comfortable with, he moved on to the sleeves. “Why don't you come over to my house? I have a some clothes that might fit you.”

Robbie looked her up and down and then gave her a very flat look.

“No offense,” he said, “but pink really isn't my color.”

Stephanie actually laughed at that.

“Don't worry, I'm sure of got some _not-pink_ clothes you can wear.” She then grabbed his hand and started dragging him back towards the town, drawing a yelp at the sudden jerk. He grumbled the whole way as he stumbled after her in too-large slippers.

Stephanie was glad, for once, of her Uncle's busy schedule. She didn't want to have to explain to him just what had happened to Robbie and why he was in their house. She left him in the living room as she went to her bedroom to find something appropriate for him to wear. She came back a few minutes later with black athletic shorts and a purple jersey with a large gold number 1 on it. She sent him into the bathroom to change.

“At least it fits... kind of,” he said once he exited the bathroom, dressed in the clothes. Since he was smaller than Stephanie, the clothes were still a little big on him, but at least he wasn't drowning in them anymore. Stephanie took the discarded pajamas and looked for a place to hide them.

“Sorry I don't have shoes for you,” she said when she returned. “Maybe I can ask Pixel if he has an extra pair.”

Robbie shrugged and wiggled his bare toes, giggling a bit at the feel of the carpet on them. “Don't worry about it, it's no big deal.”

Stephanie frowned at that. “No, I'll call Pixel. It's not safe to run around in bare feet.”

Robbie shrugged again and fell onto her couch with a groan. He threw his arm over his eyes and bent his knees so Stephanie could sit beside him.

“You alright, Robbie?” she asked.

He lifted his arm just enough to scowl at her. His rounded face a wider eyes, however, made him look more adorable than menacing and she giggled at him.

“I've somehow ended up in the house of a girl I don't know – but who seems to know me, wearing her clothes, in a town that's at least a two hour drive from where I'm supposed to be, and no idea how I got here. Does that seem alright to you?” he asked.

She winced and debated telling him the truth about how he ended up here – well, as much as she could probably guess given the circumstances.

He pulled his arm down to cover his mouth and stared up at the ceiling as he debated whether he should. Finally, he sighed and dropped his arm to his chest so he could speak again.

“I just wish I knew what happened... it's so frustrating not knowing.”

Stephanie bit her lip and finally gave in. She told him the truth, as far as she knew it. That he was an adult – or he was supposed to be one, anyway. She wasn't sure _how_ he ended up as a child with no real memories of being an adult, but she figured the explosion had something to do with it. She also told him how much of a menace he was. That fact drew a short laugh out of him, but he still looked lost.

She couldn't really blame him, she couldn't imagine how it must feel to have all that lost time.

“So... what now?” he asked, more to himself than to her, but she answered anyway.

“Maybe Pixel can help?”

He lifted his head to look at her for a moment and then grinned.

“You really like this 'Pixel' kid, huh?” She flushed at the accusation and slapped his leg, drawing an overly dramatic hiss of pain from the miniature villain, who curled away from the abuse.

“Come on, he's probably the smartest kid in this town,” she continued, ignoring the taunting grin on Robbie's face. “If anyone can figure out how to fix this, it's him.”

“Fine fine, let's go.” He jumped off the couch, literally _jumped_ , and ran towards the door. Stephanie shook off her bewilderment at seeing him be active in anyway and jumped up after him.

They made it to Pixel's house in record time, thankfully not running into anyone on the way. The camera at his door zoomed in on them when Stephanie knocked. She smiled up at it, while Robbie stood beside her, apparently bored out of his mind with his hand shoved into his pockets.

“Hey Stephanie!” Pixel greeted through the intercom cheerfully. “And, uh... other kid?”

“We have a problem,” Stephanie told him without preamble. “You're the only one who can help!”

“Come on in, the door's unlocked.”

They entered the house and quickly made their way up to Pixel's room.

“What can I help you guys with?” he asked when they entered, spinning in his computer chair to look at them. Now that they were inside, Pixel had to admit that the strange kid looked awfully familiar.

“Pixel, uh...” Stephanie began, trying to find an easy way to explain what happened. He frowned at them, and then looked over to the other boy who was in the middle of rolling his eyes. Finally, when it seemed like Stephanie was at a loss for words and Pixel was just getting increasingly confused, he stepped forward and held out his hand.

“Hey, my name's Robbie Rotten. S'nice to meet you,” he said and Pixel, who, in stunned silence, shook the hand.

“Wha-uh, _Robbie Rotten?”_ Pixel finally managed to squeak out, looking over at Stephanie with wide eyes.

“He had an accident,” Stephanie said with a groan. “We were hoping you could figure out how to fix it.”

“What – ah, what happened, exactly?” Pixel finally asked, his eyes darting back and forth between Stephanie and Robbie. Both of them shrugged.

“We were hoping you could tell us,” she said. Robbie nodded and re-pocketed his hand.

“I don't remember anything,” he added helpfully. “There was an explosion involved, though.” Pixel shook his head, turned back to his computer and started up a program.

“I'm gonna have to scan you, then, and see if I can figure it out. Hold still a sec.” Suddenly, a window-like contraption dropped down from the ceiling and started circling Robbie, who had to clamp down on the instinct to jump away from the space invasion.

The scan only took a few moments, and when the machine retreated back to the ceiling, Robbie slumped in relief.

Stephanie chuckled and patted his back, drawing another adorable scowl from him.

“Alright, it's gonna take a little bit to analyze the scans. You can play some games if you want,” Pixel said, waving his hand at the TV. Stephanie sighed at the thought of being inactive and sat down, expecting Robbie to pick up the controller without any complaint and get straight to playing. It seemed like just the kind of lazy activity he enjoyed.

Instead, he slumped next to her and groaned, drawing out a long ' _boring'_ as he nudged the controller with his bare foot. Which reminded Stephanie.

“Oh, Pixel?” she asked, looking over the back of the couch at the boy genius. He hummed in response, not looking up from his computer. “Do you have a spare pair of shoes Robbie can borrow?”

“Should have a pair or two in the closet. He can borrow a pair of socks too, if he wants.” Robbie peaked over the couch to look on in confusion as Stephanie puttered over to the dresser, and then the closet for the footwear.

It was so bizarre to him, that these kids were so willing to share their stuff – especially knowing how much of a nuisance his adult self was to them. Back in Mayhemtown, sharing was practically unheard of. You usually had to bribe someone, or offer a favor, to borrow even the smallest thing.

“Here you go!” Stephanie cheerfully announced, dropping a pair of black and red sneakers and some socks onto his lap. He stared at them for a moment, still baffled at their strange kindness, before shifting around to put the items on.

The shoes were a bit big, but it was bearable. Plus, he did have to admit, he felt better with his feet covered.

In the time it took Pixel to process the scans, Stephanie found herself once again stunned at the de-aged villain. The kid just _could not_ sit still! He spent the entire time shifting around, trying to get comfortable, wiggling around to a silent song in his head, or standing up to walk around and sitting back down repeatedly.

Sportacus would love him like this, she decided.

“Got it!” Pixel finally announced, and the two leaped up to join him at the computer. On one of the screens were pictures of two separate machines – one labeled as the _Littlizer 3000_ and the other as the _Memory Zapper 3000_.

“According to my scans, whatever caused the explosion resulted in a chain reaction from these two machines, which is how you ended up like this,” Pixel told them, looking over his shoulder at Stephanie. “With that being said, I have good news and bad news.”

“What's the bad news?” she asked. Pixel glanced around to Robbie, who raised an eyebrow at him.

“They're both custom-made machines, so I can't order new ones,” he said, and both of them deflated slightly.

“Who made them?” Robbie asked, staring at them and wondering what process was used to make them in the first place.

“Uh... you did?” Pixel said, frowning. “Wow, you really _don't_ remember anything, do you?”

The look Robbie gave him was distinctly unimpressed.

“No way I would make machines like _those_ and give them such stupid names.”

Pixel and Stephanie both choked back laughs and grinned at each other.

“What's the good news, Pixel?” Stephanie asked, trying to get them both back on track. Pixel's grin turned into a full-on smile and he started typing something into his computer. Images of blueprints for the machines popped up on another screen – patented by Robbie Rotten, much to said boy's irritation.

“ _Can't_ believe I'd name them that...” he muttered under his breath.

“The good news is that I can rebuild them,” he said, chest puffed up in pride.

“You have the technology?” Robbie asked, forgetting his indignation to grin at the silly reference. It fell flat however, when Pixel took the question seriously and started rattling off the things he'd need to get to make the machines.

“Wow...” Robbie muttered. Stephanie gave him a curious look, but he just shook his head. “Before your time.”

“It'll take a few days for everything to get here... and then to actually make them...” Pixel started muttering to himself and typing time calculations into his computer. “Uh... could take two weeks, or more,” he finally told them.

“Two weeks!?” Stephanie gaped. What were they gonna do with a child-sized Robbie for two weeks?

“If I help build the machines, you could cut the time by at least a quarter,” Robbie said, leaning over Pixel to type a few things into the calculation. Pixel nodded.

“Right, and if we can find some of this stuff in your lair, it can cut the time even more!”

“I that the place I woke up in?” Robbie asked Stephanie, who nodded. “Might have to wait a day or two, then, the place is probably still filled with smoke,”

Feeling relieved now that there was an explanation and a plan to fix it, Stephanie grinned and looked out the window. She gaped. Forget two weeks, what were they gonna do with Robbie _tonight?_ When she brought it up, Robbie clucked his tongue and then looked outside.

“I can probably find a bench to sleep on, or something,” he said. Stephanie was incredibly concerned by the nonchalance with which he suggested it. Like it was totally normal for a kid to sleep on a bench. She shook her head.

“No way, Robbie,” she said. She crossed her arms and considered the problem. “I guess you can probably stay with us, we have a guest room.”

An invitation to stay the night? Robbie was being thrown for so many loops today it was making him dizzy. Still, he wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth, and he agreed without much arguing.

So, without further ado, he approached Pixel's door, intending to head back to Stephanie's house.

“Hold on! We need a good story,” she said, stopping him just as he reached the door.

“A story? Why?” Robbie asked, brows furrowed in confusion.

“For Uncle Milford, and the other kids. What if someone sees you, how are we gonna explain why you're here?”

“Uh... tell the truth?” the boy suggested, speaking slowly like he was talking to an idiot. Part of Stephanie was incredibly offended, but another part was wondering why he wanted to be honest all of a sudden. Had Robbie really been this different as a child?

“Because not everyone's gonna be happy to see you walking around, no matter how young you are,” she said. “Think of it as... a disguise!”

That seemed to be the magic word, because Robbie's eyes lit up.

“Well, I guess I can go along with that,” he said with a smug smirk that had Pixel nearly falling out of his chair with laughter. The glare Robbie shot him only made it worse.

“What do you suggest?” Robbie finally asked, looking back at Stephanie, who was appraising him like he was some kind of show animal.

“You can be a friend of mine from back home! I talk to all my friends about Lazytown, so it wouldn't be weird of one of them wanted to visit.”

Robbie frowned. “But I don't know a thing about your home,” he pointed out. Stephanie waved that issue away.

“No one here really asks about it, you'll be fine,” she said. “Now c'mon, I gotta tell Uncle Milford about you.”

She then proceeded to once again drag Robbie around, shouting goodbye to Pixel who was attempting to wave back and control his giggles at the same time.

Asking her Uncle Milford wasn't really an issue, as it turned out. The man was so indulgent of Stephanie's wants that she barely needed to say please before he agreed.

“It'll be nice to have a friend of yours stay,” he had said. Apparently he thought she had been feeling homesick with just the kids of Lazytown to play with. He also agreed to help buy some clothes for Robbie when Stephanie claimed that his luggage had been lost on the train.

Robbie thought he was a bit of an idiot for believing that, but he didn't say it to Stephanie.

By 9 pm, Robbie was settled into the guest room, lying awake while both Milford and Stephanie snored away in their own rooms.

“What a day,” he muttered to himself. He stared out the open window, wondered at the sense of relaxation just having a window gave him, and let the soft light of the moon lure him to sleep.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The wait begins - and there's nothing to do but meet the rest of the kids.

Robbie was woken up at what he considered the un _godly_ hour of 8 am by Stephanie practically kicking the door down and screaming at him.

Alright, so she had knocked at least. And she hadn't _slammed_ the door open. And he could admit she wasn't screaming, so much as being far too cheerful. He groaned and tried to roll away when she started rambling to him about their plans for the day.

She was a _morning_ person, ugh.

Once she finally finished rattling off their schedule, she stood beside the bed, staring down at the lump of blankets, and huffed.

“You have to get up sometime, Robbie,” she told him. He grumbled something intelligible into the pillow, probably something disparaging, but she wasn't disturbed. Finally she got fed up.

“Alright, but you asked for this.” She gripped the sheet's he'd wrapped himself in and yanked them as hard as she could and the man-turned-boy gave an incredibly undignified squawk of surprise as he was displaced from the bed and sent sprawling to the floor.

They both froze for a long moment as Robbie tried to come to terms with what had happened and Stephanie stared at the sheets still gripped in her hands. Finally, the silence was shattered by a snort and Robbie looked up with a disgruntled scowl as Stephanie doubled over with laughter.

“Yeah yeah, yuck it up,” Robbie grumbled. He climbed to his feet and dusted off the over sized pajamas he'd put back on for the night.

“Y-you should've seen your _face_ ,” Stephanie gasped out through her cackles. Her face was bright red with glee and she was almost tearing up from the laughter.

“ _Whatever_!” Robbie snapped, yanking the blankets back and tossing them onto the bed haphazardly. He then started shoving the still-laughing girl out of the room. “Go on, get out of here. I'm up so let me change.”

“Fine, fine. But hurry up, Uncle's making waffles for breakfast!” And with that, Stephanie left the room and skipped down the hallway.

Robbie rolled his eyes at the joyful exit and closed the door.

Ten minutes later, he drifted into the kitchen, dressed in the same clothes he'd borrowed from Stephanie the day before, and slipped into a chair next to said girl.

“Good morning, my boy!” Milford greeted from the other side of the breakfast bar. He placed a plate of waffles and scrambled eggs in front of Robbie and then turned back to the stove to clean up the mess. “I've given Stephanie some money so you two can replace what you lost on the train.”

Robbie looked over at Stephanie, who was still grinning at him over the bed incident, and managed to refrain from making a stupid face at the mayor.

“Such an awful thing that was, loosing all of your belongings like that. Those trains really should look after their luggage better. Why, if it were me...” Milford continued to ramble, lumbering around the kitchen while the two kids ate their breakfast.

Eventually, when the kitchen was spotless and the ranting had stopped, Milford rounded the bar and gave Stephanie a kiss on the cheek as a goodbye. Miss Busybody had his schedule filled to the brim today and he needed to get going before she came looking for him.

“Have fun you two,” he said as he left. “Don't do anything I wouldn't do!”

Robbie gagged at the door and Stephanie started giggling again.

“C'mon,” she said, sliding off the stool to wash her plate. Robbie followed her with a grunt and they both put away their clean dishes. Once that was finished, they slipped their shoes on and headed out the door.

It was still early, barely half-past 8, so everyone else was still inside. Stephanie and Robbie didn't have to worry about anyone meeting them as they walked to the local boutique. It wasn't a very large store, and didn't have particularly diverse selection, but their kid's section was bound to have _something_ Robbie would like.

Or at least, Stephanie hoped they did. Robbie was tugging at the purple jersey as they walked, looking uncomfortable and she had to admit, even as a kid he looked weird in casual clothes.

\--

“What about these?” she asked, pulling a pair of khaki shorts off the sales rack. Robbie didn't even need to say what he thought of the shorts, the dirty look he gave her was enough. He shook his head and went back to digging through a rack of sweaters.

“Is it so hard to find something _fashionable_ in this town?” he grumbled. Stephanie rolled her eyes and shifted past a group of jeans. Lazytown was tiny, and not exactly on the grid. Fashion was the last thing on these peoples' minds.

After what seemed like hours of looking, Robbie finally came away with something he at least wasn't embarrassed to be seen in. A pair of black slacks, a maroon argyle sweater, and a pair of red chucks. He was mostly just thankful that they fit properly.

When they finally made it back to the park, the other kids had made it outside and were playing a game of tag with Sportacus, who was apparently toning down the acrobatics so that the kids at least had a _chance_ to catch him.

When Stephanie looked over at Robbie, she saw no sign of recognition in his eyes. Nor did she see the agitation that was usually present when he saw them playing and making noise. He just looked bored. When he noticed her staring he raised an eyebrow.

“What?” Stephanie shook her head and clasped her hands behind her back.

“Nothing, don't worry about it.”

“Stephanie!” shouted the voice of Pixel, who was the first to notice their approach. He jogged over to the girl, looking like there was something he really wanted to say, but was forcing himself not to.

Robbie took a step away when Pixel crowded them.

“Hey, are you sure it's a good idea to bring him here?” Pixel asked quietly, looking over his shoulder at Robbie, who was giving him a flat look.

“Well I can't just leave him alone at home, can I?” Stephanie replied. Pixel looked pained for a moment, but nodded anyway.

“I guess that's true...”

“Stephanie!” a new voice shouted and Robbie yelped when a blue blurr flipped over his head and landed between him and the other two kids. “I was wondering if we would see you today!”

“Hah, well, here I am!” Stephanie said with an awkward smile. “I was just... showing my friend around!”

Sportacus turned to look at the boy in question. The kid was looking away from them and picking at his ear.

“Ah! A new friend?” he asked, drawing Robbie's attention. The elf turned to face Robbie fully and Stephanie and Pixel leaned over to watch him too.

“So, what is your name?” Sportacus asked with the usual exuberant cheerfulness he used in everything he did. Robbie blinked and then stuffed his hands into his pockets.

“Ro-” he cut off when he saw Stephanie and Pixel both frantically waving at him. They were shaking their heads frantically and Stephanie was mouthing _'not Robbie'_ at him. “...dney. My name's Rodney.”

Both of them sighed in relief and Sportacus' hand shot out. Robbie insinctually backed up at the sudden movement, but calmed down when he realized the man only wanted to shake hands. He tentatively placed his small hand in Sportacus' and was rewarded with a handshake that shook his entire body.

Taking back his hand, he gave the man a grimace.

“It's nice to meet you, Rodney! My name is Sportacus!” the man announced. “We are playing tag, would you like to join us?”

Robbie looked over at Stephanie, who had been joined by the other kids while Sportacus was introducing himself. The kids were giving him varying looks of appraisal. The brunet girl was giving him a look between resentment and curiosity as the pink girl explained his presence. The little boy with the cape was just openly excited, and the yellow boy was sneering.

Pixel and Stephanie just looked reserved.

Looking back at Sportacus, who looked like some kind of puppy, he finally shrugged. “Sure, I'll play tag.”

Stephanie and Pixel were _stunned_. Robbie smirked and took a few steps away.

“Good luck trying to catch me, though.” Before anyone could react, Robbie was moving. Stephanie and Pixel watched in awe as he vaulted over a fence. Sportacus looked excited and the rest of the kids immediately gave chase.

Still standing there, with their mouths ajar, Pixel and Stephanie looked at each other.

“What just happened?” Pixel asked. Stephanie just shrugged.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Panic attacks are never fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was half asleep when I finished this chapter, so I apologize for any errors. I'll probably go back over it tomorrow, when I'm actually fully awake, and edit it.

By the time Stephanie and Pixel rejoined the group, the game of tag had transformed into a game of hide-n-seek, as Robbie had disappeared halfway through the chase. The rest of the kid's had taken that as a their cue to change the game and they had all gone into hiding as well, leaving Sportacus, Stephanie, and Pixel to find them.

By the time noon rolled around, everyone had had a chance to be hiders and seekers, and they'd had a few fun rounds of the game. None of them, however, had been able to find Robbie since he first disappeared.

“He's _really_ good at this game,” Ziggy said once they'd all come together again. “It's like he's gone totally invisible!”

“Yeah, we haven't seen him in _ages_ ,” Trixie added.

“Do you think he's tired of playing?” Stingy asked. Trixie huffed and crossed her arms.

“If he is then he's just boring,” she said, before shooting a look at Stephanie and grimacing. “No offense.”

Stephanie winced. “Well... he's never been that good with people,” she told them; which, really, wasn't a lie. Though she would admit, she _was_ a bit worried. Had he still been an adult, she could count on the fact that he was plotting somewhere, coming up with new and elaborate ways to ruin their fun. But he wasn't an adult anymore, he was a kid like her and nothing she knew about him could be trusted anymore.

“What now, then?” Stingy asked.

“Well, it's gotten pretty late, maybe we should get some lunch?” Pixel chimed in, looking up from his watch. It was around one in the afternoon, and they had been playing for quite a few hours.

“Yeah! We can go to my house,” Trixie suggested, irritation immediately evaporated. “We have a lot of leftovers from my cousin's birthday party!”

“Do you have any cake?” Ziggy asked, hopefully.

“Sure do!” And that was all the prompting the kids needed to take off for Trixie's house, and the cake there-in. Before leaving the park, Pixel paused and looked at Stephanie, who hadn't moved.

“You coming?” Stephanie shook her head.

“I should probably find Rob- uh, Rodney,” she told him. Pixel 'oh-ed' and nodded, and then took off after the other kids.

“He is very good at hiding,” Sportacus said from behind Stephanie, causing her to jump and squeak in surprise. Sportacus laughed good-naturedly and patted her shoulder. “Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you.”

Stephanie smiled and waved her hand around. “It's okay. Do you know where he could be?” she asked.

Sportacus rested his hands on his hips and looked around. “I may have an idea...” he told her as his head tilted towards the large tree in the middle of the park. Stephanie followed his gaze and frowned when she saw nothing.

“There's nothing – oh!” As she continued to stare up into the tree, the air around it seemed to waver like a mirage on a hot street. For a split second she could see Robbie, lying on one of the sturdier branches of the tree. “How's he doing that...?”

“It is magic,” Sportacus told her, as he walked towards a smaller tree nearby to grab the ladder leaning against it. “It is very rare to see a human who can use it.”

“Magic?” Stephanie repeated in wonder as she continued to stare at the glamour. Sportacus leaned the ladder against the tree and she skipped up to it before he could begin climbing. She knew that Robbie didn't remember Sportacus, so he probably didn't hate him like usual, but she didn't think he'd appreciate being crowded by the earnest hero.

“Uh, maybe I should get him,” she suggested when Sportacus questioned her approach. She had one hand on the ladder when she told him, “He doesn't really know you, and he can be...jumpy.”

“If you are sure,” Sportacus said, stepping aside so she could climb the ladder. He held it steady as she ascended.

Robbie had been having a wonderful nap, up in the tree. He'd given up on the game when he realized none of the kids could catch up with him. He could've continued to lead the elf in a chase around the park, but something about Sportacus made him uncomfortable, so he decided to ditch.

Besides, the tree just looked _so_ inviting.

It had taken little effort to scale his way up to the strongest branch and make himself comfortable, and even less effort to weave a mild invisibility spell. It wouldn't fool someone really trying to find him, but it would be enough to keep the other kids from bothering him.

He had nothing against them, really, but they were just so _boring_. They couldn't really keep up with him the way Glanni could, and it got old, leading them around the park.

Of course, he hadn't counted on the elf. Most magical beings had an inherent ability to sense magic in others, and Robbie had been overly obvious in his spell, though he could be forgiven in that he'd only been practicing magic for a few years(well, as far as he could remember, he still had no idea how much time he'd lost of his adult life). Sportacus, purely by virtue of being an adult elf, wouldn't be as easily deceived.

“Robbie!” a voice hissed to the left of him. He peaked an eye open to see his pink host frowning at him. Huh, he'd expected the elf.

“What's up?” he asked, twisting a bit to face the girl.

“What are you doing up here?” She ignored his query and peered at him curiously. “And how'd you even get up here, anyway? The ladder was over there.”

Robbie watched her wave towards a smaller tree a few yards away.

“I climbed,” he told her. He pushed himself up into a seated position and shrugged. “Not that hard when you know what you're doing.”

“What about the invisibility? That was pretty cool, how'd you do that?” Robbie opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by Sportacus, calling up to them.

“Is everything alright, Stephanie?” The elf could see them talking, but was too far away to hear their whispered words. Robbie sighed and made a shooing motion to Stephanie.

“Go on, I'm coming down,” he told her. She nodded and started to climb back down.

Robbie would've grumbled about being dragged away from his nap, but he found himself hungry and so wasn't too upset. The hunger vanished, however, once he climbed to his feet and stood up on the branch.

The moment he looked down, getting ready to make the climb down, the world _spun_ , and his back exploded in searing pain. Suddenly the ground was much farther away than he remembered it being and appeared to be getting further. He wavered a bit on the branch as dizziness and vertigo overtook his senses and he stumbled towards to trunk. He clung to it as tightly as he could, though the flex of muscle tugged at his agonized back. He swore quietly to himself as he tried to force himself to calm down, trying to think past the sound of his heart pounding in his ears. _It's just a tree, it's not even that high, stop freaking out!_

“Rodney?” Suddenly there was an irritating beeping noise to his right and it _wasn't helping at all._

Robbie grunted, but kept his eyes closed and his cheek pressed to the bark of the tree. _Calm down calm down calm dow-_

“ _Rodney!”_ A hand landed gently on his shoulder and his eyes snapped open with a sharp gasp. There was a pair of blue eyes staring at him with concern and _what?_ That beeping wasn't going away, either.

“Give me your hand, please, Rodney,” Sportacus said, taking his hand off the boy's shoulder to hold it, palm up, for Robbie to grab. The boy stared at it for a moment, not quite comprehending it's purpose at first – to distracted by the way his racing heart made it hard to breathe – but reached out his own shaking hand to grab it.

The elf tugged gently at Robbie's hand, slowly coaxing him away from the tree and closer to himself, until he had the boy held safely against his chest. Robbie's hands fisted in his blue vest and he breathed a sigh of relief when the beeping finally stopped and Sportacus carried him down to ladder.

He set Robbie on his feet once they reached the ground, but kept a hand on his shoulder when he stumbled a bit.

“Are you okay?” the elf asked and, if Robbie hadn't been so suddenly exhausted, he'd have glared at Sportacus for asking such a stupid question. _Of course_ he wasn't alright! Instead, he looked away and caught Stephanie's eye instead.

He had forgotten she was even there.

“Maybe I should take R-Rodney home,” she suggested. Robbie gave a tired snort at her slip up. “He probably needs to lie down.”

Sportacus didn't look too sure, she suspected he didn't want to leave them alone after that ordeal. She got the feeling that Robbie would appreciate the hovering elf even less than before, however.

“I'm fine,” Robbie added, pushing away from Sportacus to stand next to(well, lean on, really) Stephanie. “Steph's right, I just need to lie down for a little while.”

Sportacus didn't seem to convinced, Robbie's voice was still shaking and he looked dead on his feet. Stephanie gave the hero her most angelic smile and promised to take care of her friend. Besides, the other kids would be looking for Sportacus when they got back for lunch and did he really want to disappoint him?

She ended with the most pathetic, puppy-eyes she could manage, and Sportacus finally gave in with a fond smile.

“Alright, alright. But, at least let me walk you home, okay?” Stephanie looked at Robbie, who gave her a tired shrug, and she nodded.

“Thanks, Sportacus. We really appreciate it,” she told him. Sportacus fairly beamed at her and Robbie.

“Can we go, please? I don't think I can stand this much longer,” Robbie whined, drawing a worried gasp from Sportacus.

“Would you like me to carry you?” the elf asked, earnestly.

“I'm fine!” Robbie snapped, slapping away the Sportacus' hand, and tottering away with a scowl. The rejection didn't keep the elf from hurrying after him and offering his help again, which only made Robbie yell louder.

Stephanie followed behind them at a more sedate pace, laughing quietly at them. _Boys_.

 


End file.
